Camera surveys commonly are used by managers and hunters to estimate white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus density and demographic rates. Though studies have documented biases and inaccuracies in the camera survey methodology, camera traps remain popular due to ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and ability to survey large areas. Because recruitment is a key parameter in ungulate population dynamics, there is a growing need to test the effectiveness of camera surveys for assessing fawn recruitment. At Savannah River Site, South Carolina, we used six years of camera-based recruitment estimates (i.e. fawn:doe ratio) to predict concurrently collected annual radiotag-based survival estimates. The coefficient of determination (R²) was 0.445, indicating some support for the viability of cameras to reflect recruitment. We added two years of data from Fort Bragg Military Installation, North Carolina, which improved R² to 0.621 without accounting for site-specific variability. Also, we evaluated the correlation between year-to-year changes in recruitment and survival using the Savannah River Site data; R² was 0.758, suggesting that camera-based recruitment could be useful as an indicator of the trend in survival. Because so few researchers concurrently estimate survival and camera-based recruitment, examining this relationship at larger spatial scales while controlling for numerous confounding variables remains difficult. Future research should test the validity of our results from other areas with varying deer and camera densities, as site (e.g. presence of feral pigs Sus scrofa) and demographic (e.g. fawn age at time of camera survey) parameters may have a large influence on detectability. Until such biases are fully quantified, we urge researchers and managers to use caution when advocating the use of camera-based recruitment estimates.

Over the last decades, many wild goose populations have increased significantly and are now causing conflicts with socioeconomic and biological interests. To mitigate impacts of rapid population increases, population control by increasing harvest has been attempted. In this study we seek to guide the design of a regional autumn goose hunting organisation in agricultural landscapes by identifying areas suitable for hunting, which have high probability of occurrence of pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus and/or a short return time by geese to fields subject to hunting. To identify areas suitable for hunting in Nord-Trøndelag County, mid-Norway, we used species distributions models (SDMs), a broadly accepted tool in conservation planning for spatial refuge organisation. The prediction was that the highest probability of goose occurrence exists for large fields, away from small roads and near water bodies serving as safe roosting sites. Additionally, return time was predicted to be shortest for large fields near roosting sites and away from big roads. A combined map of goose occurrence and return time showed similar prediction for high goose occurrence and short return time; hence areas most suitable for hunting are large fields, close to roost sites and away from roads. If hunters and landowners are willing to coordinate goose hunting at a landscape level, they can use the prediction maps as guidance, with the likely benefit that they collectively can shoot more geese. Such local and regional organisation can become a powerful tool in the harvest management of geese.

Anthropogenic changes to the landscape such as fertilization and mowing schemes have been correlated with goslings obtaining a higher weight gain during the first weeks of their life, which in turn increases breeding success and survival at the adult stage. As goose numbers rise, conflicts with farmers become stronger as the birds use agricultural sites for foraging. In this study, habitat choice for individually marked greylag geese from four different rearing conditions, categorized by their temporal application of fertilizer, was documented over a seventeen-year period. Weekly observations took place on a resident population of wild greylag geese within the Ooijpolder, the Netherlands. The region comprises of areas dedicated to nature restoration as well as agricultural use. In essence, we infer the habitat choice of greylag geese from the frequency of sightings of individually marked geese in different habitat patches, and model habitat choice as a function of rearing conditions, age, and seasonality. Despite a general preference for agricultural grassland, about 40% of the habitat choice was determined by the rearing condition of geese. Interestingly, geese reared in restored meadows, a less favorable rearing habitat, exhibited strong habitat fidelity and preferred to forage in meadows in the spring. Habitat choice was furthermore influenced by age of adult geese and seasonal changes in plant availability. We discuss management implications of our results on habitat choice in an agricultural landscape for increasing resident goose populations. An efficient management measure would be the limitation of goose access to improved grassland during rearing period in the spring.

The accuracy of global positioning system (GPS) locations obtained from study animals tagged with GPS monitoring devices has been a concern as to the degree it influences assessments of movement patterns, space use, and resource selection estimates. Many methods have been proposed for screening data to retain the most accurate positions for analysis, based on dilution of precision (DOP) measures, and whether the position is a two dimensional or three dimensional fix. Here we further explore the utility of these measures, by testing a Telonics GEN3 GPS collar's positional accuracy across a wide range of environmental conditions. We found the relationship between location error and fix dimension and DOP metrics extremely weak (r²_adj ∼ 0.01) in our study area. Environmental factors such as topographic exposure, canopy cover, and vegetation height explained more of the variance (r²_adj = 15.08%). Our field testing covered sites where sky-view was so limited it affected GPS performance to the degree fix attempts failed frequently (fix success rates ranged 0.00–100.00% over 67 sites). Screening data using PDOP did not effectively reduce the location error in the remaining dataset. Removing two dimensional fixes reduced the mean location error by 10.95 meters, but also resulted in a 54.50% data reduction. Therefore screening data under the range of conditions sampled here would reduce information on animal movement with minor improvements in accuracy and potentially introduce bias towards more open terrain and vegetation.

The elusive Caspian red deer Cervus elaphus maral lives at low densities in rugged forest habitats of the Caucasus and the south Caspian region, and its declining population requires urgent attention. We here address the precision and reliability of dung counts (fecal standing crop approach FSC) and camera trapping (random encounter model REM) for estimating its population size. We surveyed 36 km of strip transects arranged in systematic random design and applied 1585 camera trap nights of effort in the mountainous forest habitats of Golestan National Park, Iran. We also conducted a dung decay analysis of 80 samples. Dung decay rates were not habitat-specific and the mean time to decay was 141.8 ± 15.1 days, i.e. only ca 52% of the most reliable estimate available for red deer dung. Estimated deer population size and density from dung counts was lower (194 ±46 individuals, 0.46 ±0.11 individuals km^-2, 2012–2013) than from REM (257 ±84 individuals, 0.61 ± 0.20 individuals km^-2, 2011), but this difference was insignificant. Both these estimates confirm a sharp decline of the population from an estimated 2096 animals in the 1970s. Density estimates reached a stable level and were most precise at a sampling effort of 15 transects (FSC) and 1345 camera trap-days (REM). Our results confirm that FSC and REM can both be reliable for assessing populations of Cervidae.

Elk Cervus canadensis nelsoni in the Black Hills, South Dakota, have been declining since 2006 and there is concern by resource managers and hunters that puma Puma concolor predation may be contributing to declining herds. We evaluated characteristics at sites where puma successfully killed elk in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We evaluated characteristics at coarse (79-ha plots) and fine (0.2-ha plot) scales across the landscape. Our primary objective was to obtain a better understanding of vegetation and terrain characteristics that may have facilitated greater susceptibility of elk to predation by puma. We evaluated effects of road density, terrain heterogeneity, probability of elk use, and vegetation variables at 62 puma kill sites of elk and 186 random sites to identify key landscape attributes where elk were killed by puma. Elk were killed by puma in high use areas. Elk were also killed in areas that had greater amounts of edge and intermediate ruggedness at the coarse scale. Further, elk were killed in areas with greater small tree density and woody debris at the fine scale. High germination rates of ponderosa pine trees are unique to the Black Hills and provide dense patches of cover for puma. We hypothesize that cover from small trees and woody debris provided conditions where puma could stalk elk in areas with optimal security cover for elk. We suggest managers implement vegetation management practices that reduce small tree density and woody debris in areas with greater density of meadow—forest edge if they are interested in potentially diminishing hiding cover for puma in elk high use areas.

A recent study of Sitka black-tailed deer Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis demonstrated that opportunistic fawn capture yielded left-truncated data and ultimately resulted in overestimating fawn survival and spurious ecological model inference compared to neonates captured via vaginal implant transmitters (VITs). Given the ecological and economic value of ungulates worldwide and the importance of neonate survival to understanding population dynamics, the potential biases in survival estimates and causes of mortality caused by left-truncation must be transparent. Herein, we used a VIT-based dataset from white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus to examine potential problems with left-truncated data. We manipulated our original VIT-based dataset by randomly assigning age-at-capture to create three hypothetical opportunistic samples. We used the Kaplan—Meier estimator to quantify fawn survival to 16 weeks of age for the original and hypothetical datasets. Additionally, we compared the relative importance of mortality causes between the datasets. Survival for the original, VIT-based dataset was 0.121 (SE = 0.043), while hypothetical datasets yielded overestimates (ranging from 0.191 to 0.234). The hypothetical opportunistic samples overestimated coyote predation as a source of mortality, while underestimating starvation. Because management actions rely on accurate estimates of survival and causes of mortality, we recommend that neonatal survival studies consider biases caused by capture method. For robust estimates of survival, VIT-based samples appear to provide better estimates of survival, as opportunistic samples are biased high. We encourage future work to elucidate the potential for neonate capture technique to affect cause-specific mortality.

‘Adaptive management’, which has been defined as the repeated iteration between management action, scientific assessment and revised management action, leading to a strengthened foundation for management, is required by Swedish law to be incorporated into the management of large carnivores. We have evaluated whether the size and/or trend of the brown bear Ursus arctos population in Sweden corresponded to management-decided national objectives during five management regimes during the past 70 years (1943—2013). We found that the objective had been met in only one period, when it had been worded very vaguely. During the last period studied (2008—2013), when management was carried out on the county level and adaptive management was required by the Swedish Government, four of six counties met their trend objectives, but only one of six met the population objectives, although one was close to meeting them. Sociological studies have documented major problems in communication among the members of the county delegations responsible for the management of large carnivores. As adaptive management apparently never has been implemented successfully in brown bear management in Sweden, we recommend that the Delegations for Game Management be mandated to integrate up-to-date, scientifically documented biological information into their decisions. This is not done consistently today. Researchers should be involved in the process to inform about relevant, available information, design testable scientific ‘experiments’ based on the predicted results of management decisions, and evaluate the results in relation to the predictions, perhaps as members of a ‘boundary organization’ consisting of researchers, managers and stakeholders. This would require a new management paradigm, because many in Sweden seem to be skeptical to the idea of involving researchers in management.

The Amur tiger Panthera tigris altaica is endangered throughout its range. Estimating abundance to monitor population trends is needed to judge success of conservation efforts. However, low densities and elusive behavior make precise estimates difficult to achieve. Managers must employ sampling methods that maximize precision while remaining feasible under constraints inherent to areas tigers inhabit. We applied camera trap, hair snare, DNA collection, scent-matching dog, morphometric track identification and track survey methods and developed a rubric to evaluate their efficacy in estimating tiger abundance in Russia. We conducted sampling over the course of one year in Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Zapovednik (SABZ). We ranked candidate methods using logistical, statistical and cost criteria to evaluate their efficacy for monitoring tiger numbers. Due to logistical and technical constraints, we relied on data from a parallel study to derive three statistical criteria for the DNA collection method. Camera traps, DNA collection, and track surveys were the only methods with sufficient sample sizes to estimate abundance for each sampling session during which the method was tested. DNA collection and camera traps were promising statistically, though poor-performing for logistics and cost. Technical improvements in camera trap design since the time of this study may improve the method's statistical and cost performance compared to our evaluation. Conversely, track surveys were most efficient logistically and financially, but poor statistically. Method choice for any given monitoring situation should consider local conditions and the specific objectives of the monitoring program in light of all three criteria — statistical, logistical and cost. Failure in any of these areas can lead to failure of a monitoring program.

Protected areas, such as nature reserves, are essential for effective conservation of threatened species through protection and management of populations and habitats. Habitat evaluation is a key method that has been frequently used to assess the effectiveness of protected areas. Previous research has mainly focused on species conservation related to changes in land cover and habitat fragmentation while few studies have examined changes in microhabitat structure. Using a multi-scale habitat change analysis (i.e. regional, macro- and microhabitat) in a temporal framework, we assessed the effectiveness of current nature reserve management for the habitat protection of the Reeves's pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii, a vulnerable, forest-dwelling species. We measured land use/land cover changes inside and outside the Dongzhai National Nature Reserve (DNNR), in 2002 and 2013 corresponding to the times at and after the establishment of the DNNR. We also compared differences in habitat fragmentation patterns and microhabitat structure and composition between the two periods. Results show that the forest coverage has slightly increased both inside and outside DNNR, and habitat fragmentation metrics have not changed substantially since the establishment of DNNR. Significant differences were detected in microhabitat structure and composition between 2002 and 2013. After more than 10 years of no disturbance, canopy cover and density of the shrub layer increased, while herbaceous plant height declined. The observed changes reduced resource availability resulting in increased foraging time for pheasants and increased predation rates. This suggests that current nature reserve management systems may have negative impacts on the conservation of the Reeves's pheasant. We propose that the Regulations of Nature Reserves in China should be revised to account for the habitat requirements of different threatened species with varied life history traits.

Patterns of habitat use profoundly influence interactions among wildlife species and ecological communities, the sustainability of species and the stability of populations. The Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx, sable Martes zibellina, moose Alces alces, roe deer Capreolus pygargus and mountain hare Lepus timidus are sympatric carnivore and herbivore species in Hanma Nature Reserve in the Greater Khingan Mountains, northeastern China. We conducted snow track sample plot surveys of these mammals during the winter of 2012–2013 and analyzed habitat selection characteristics and interspecific interactions. We screened the preferred habitat variables of each species and predicted their potential occurrence probability by generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) and further, selected the best model of each species that incorporated other species' potential occurrence probability in GLMM. Our results showed that when we only considered habitat factors in the model: 1) river valley was the most favored habitat factor in winter that lynx, moose and mountain hare showed strong selection on; 2) lynx preferred areas with steep slope and coniferous forest; 3) sable only avoided the forest edge; 4) roe deer avoided sparse shrub forest but preferred coniferous forest. When we incorporated other species' presence probability in GLMM: 1) the presence probability of moose and roe deer had no significant relationship with other species; 2) lynx preferred areas with higher mountain hare potential occurrence probability; 3) sable preferred areas with higher mountain hare but less lynx occurrence probability; 4) mountain hare preferred to inhabit areas with sympatric roe deer and lynx. These results will provide guidance for species specific habitat conservation and restoration, and wildlife population management based on interspecific interactions.

Marking birds is a vital tool for determining survival, habitat-use patterns, and movements. For galliform species, metal leg bands and radio-transmitters are widely used marking techniques. While commonly used on adult birds, leg banding and radio-marking of galliform chicks are not commonly employed. During a two-year study to evaluate survival, dispersal, and habitat-use of released four-week old ring-necked pheasants Phasianus colchicus, we sought to mark chicks in a manner that allowed us to track them post-release and recognize them if harvested as adults. Our objectives were to evaluate the efficacy of four banding techniques: 1) standard bands for adult ring-necked pheasants [no. 6 aluminum butt-end bands], 2) colored plastic spiral leg bands commonly used for banding poultry, 3) no. 6 bands and plastic spiral leg bands to prevent the aluminum bands from slipping off, and 4) cotton-filled no. 6 bands to prevent bands from slipping off and allow growth of the tarsus. We also evaluated two radio-transmitter attachment methods: gluing or suturing transmitters on the back of four-week-old chicks. The no. 6 bands did not stay attached to the birds due to the bands being too large, and plastic spiral bands commonly caused constriction of the legs, possibly crippling birds. However, using cotton filled leg-bands was a reliable method for marking pheasant chicks. Although gluing has been used successfully as a radio-transmitter attachment method in other studies, in our study it largely failed given that few radio-transmitters remained attached beyond two days. Suturing was an effective method (90% of the transmitters remained attached until death or expected life of the battery) for attaching radio-transmitters to ring-necked pheasant chicks. Our field study has revealed promising approaches and we suggest that a captive study should now evaluate the possible sub-lethal effects (e.g. growth rates, body condition, transmitter retention times) of these attachment methods.

When Finland joined the European Union (EU) in 1995, the grey wolf Canis lupus became strictly protected. The wolf population grew gradually until 2007, at which point it exceeded 250 wolves. Since then, the population size has drastically fluctuated between 150 and 240 animals. Current wolf policy that coordinates wolf-related human actions has not succeeded in stabilizing the population size on the favorable conservation level. We argue that the understanding of epistemic contestations and social practices in local knowledge production is a key to the improved wolf management.

In this case study, we explore wolf hunters' (license applicant's) epistemic adaptations in their interplay with regional authorities as both parties' have attempted to find a common ground of wolf management by means of culling specific wolves. We collected data that cover a nine-year history of one wolf-territory in southwestern Finland.

Our results indicate that epistemic adaptations that began after appearance of wolves to the region related to 1) how wolf knowledge production was made useful for those participating in it; and 2) how local actors adapted to changing administrative epistemic requirements and processes related to the wolf management. In our case, hunters actively built networking to collect information, and learned to play a strategic game of providing specific descriptive knowledge on the habits of ‘the problem wolf’, and compulsive prescriptive knowledge concerning solutions to the problem. The case shows how the epistemic adaptation in the context of policy and management is associated with the purposes and reasons of local agents in knowledge production. Now that large carnivores have during recent decades been returning to modern human-dominated landscapes in Europe, an increasing challenge is, how to govern the process of adaptation and create opportunities for utilizing the potential of local knowledge capacity in collective problem solving beyond that of lethal management.

Weasels Mustela spp. are specialized, small predators which demonstrate pronounced differences in size and social status according to sex and age, and these differences may manifest in spatial patterns including home range size and habitat selection. In forested North America, favored prey (voles; Microtus spp. and Myodes spp.) of short-tailed weasels Mustela erminea often reach high abundances in early stage forest, but availability of that cover type is limited where intensive plantation forestry occurs. We estimated home range size, including home range core area and arrangement, habitat selection, wet season rest site reuse and movements for 25 (18 M: 7 F) short-tailed weasels Mustela erminea that we radio-collared in managed plantation forests in western Oregon, USA in 2012–2013. Average fixed kernel 90% home range size was 51.3 hectares for males (95% confidence interval = 30.8–71.7 ha) and 8.6 hectares for females (95% confidence interval = 6.41–10.79 ha). Juvenile males had larger core areas than adult males, and all females had similar core areas. Core areas for all individuals were negatively correlated with % early stage forest cover. Females strongly selected early stage forest cover at both study area and home range scales, and males were less selective of particular cover types. Home ranges of observed males did not overlap, but partly overlapped the home ranges of females. Short-tailed weasels reused the same rest site in 43% ± 4 (mean ± SE) of cases observed during the wet season (n = 10 individuals, 292 rest sites). We conclude that space use by short-tailed weasels in western Oregon is influenced by sex, age, and cover type, especially availability of early stage forest, in managed conifer forests.

Despite being a widespread and important game species in Europe, scientifically reliable, easy applicable and cost effective methods for monitoring abundance of roe deer Capreolus capreolus populations do not yet exist. The currently recommended kilometric index (AI-p) captures temporal variation in the relative abundance of populations; however, because this index is carried out on foot, it is demanding in terms of sampling effort and difficult to apply at spatial scales of several hundred km² typical of deer management units. Here, we propose and test a modified version of the kilometric index by using a vehicle to carry out transects over large areas (AI-v). To validate this abundance index, we compared variation in population abundance estimated with AI-p and AI-v with capture—mark—recapture (CMR) estimates of population density in a roe deer population, Chizé (France), monitored for 24 years (including eight years when both indices were collected). We found no detectable effect of conditions of observation (temperature and precipitation) on either AI-p or AI-v. AI-p and AI-v were both positively and linearly related (on a log scale) to CMR estimates of population density, after accounting for uncertainty of CMR estimates by using a bootstrap procedure. AI-p was slightly better correlated to population density (r = 0.76) than AI-v (r = 0.58). The positive correlation of AI-p and AI-v with CMR density estimates as well as the reduced costs of conducting surveys by car instead on foot (-47%) suggest that diurnal vehicle counts of roe deer can provide a suitable abundance index to monitor temporal trends in roe deer populations at operational management scales. For reliable management of wildlife populations, diurnal vehicle counts of roe deer could be used in association with measures of animal performance and herbivore impacts on the habitat, within the framework of the indicators of ecological change.

Co-existing species at the same trophic level often segregate with respect to diet, habitat use, or spatial distribution, reducing their direct competition for resources. However, temporal patterns in species-specific habitat use, for instance due to climatic variation, may affect the strength of interspecific interactions, and generate temporal variation in niche partitioning. We assessed temporal variation in habitat overlap between a wild ungulate, moose Alces alces, and two freeranging domestic ungulates, sheep Ovis aries and cattle Bos taurus, on a boreal forest range in southern Norway. We also calculated the distance between species' realised niches, as well as the width of their realised niches to evaluate the extent of temporal niche partitioning under different diurnal weather conditions. Analyses of each habitat variable suggested complex relationships between species-specific habitat use, photoperiod, and weather, related to species-specific behaviour and activity patterns. We found shorter overall niche distance between moose and sheep, compared to moose and cattle, and shorter niche distances during day and night than during the twilight hours. The niche distance between moose and sheep was positively related to temperature during night, but negatively during day. Moreover, niche distance between moose and both sheep and cattle was negatively related to precipitation at daytime. Moose niche width was narrower in periods with short niche distance to sheep, while we did not find such pattern towards cattle. A lack of similar moose response to cattle could be attributed to lower niche overlap between moose and cattle. Our results suggest that temporal niche partitioning between moose and livestock breaks down under the weather conditions that are predicted to become more common as climate change, potentially increasing wildlife-livestock interactions in the future.

Large areas of the British uplands consist of heather moorland, a habitat of global conservation importance that supports communities of threatened animal and plant species. Red grouse Lagopus lagopus scotica are dependent on heather and benefit from management of habitat, predators and parasites by gamekeepers employed to create a surplus of grouse for sport shooting. We compared numbers of red grouse shot across nine British regions over four discrete time periods (1890– 1920, 1920–1950, 1950–1980, 1980–2010) using annual records of shooting bags from 272 estates. We examined whether trends in numbers of grouse shot may be explained by changes in keeper density, heather moor extent or replacement of moorland by afforestation. Grouse bags were consistently higher in regions of northern England than in Scotland and Wales, and declined in all nine regions except southern Pennines from 1920 to 1950. Bags in northern England increased significantly from 1950, coinciding with increases in keeper density. In north-east Scotland and Wales, numbers of grouse shot declined over the same period, coinciding with declines in keeper density and increased afforestation of moors. Regional variation in red grouse bag counts over time may be explained by changes in land use and management intensity affecting extent of suitable habitat and predator prevalence.

Industrial development can have important direct and indirect effects on wildlife populations. Resource selection function (RSF) modeling provides a powerful tool for assessing the effects of industrial development on spatial use patterns of wildlife. Among North American large mammal species, mountain goats Oreamnos americanus are particularly sensitive to human disturbance. In this study mountain goat seasonal resource selection patterns were examined using GPS radio collar (n = 79 individuals) and remote sensing data in a GIS framework across a 491 km² regional mountain range in southeast Alaska, 2005–2015. The resulting global RSF model was then applied across a limited spatial extent centered on an industrial mining site in order to assess whether mining activity altered expected spatial use patterns at different distances from the mine. Using a quasi treatment—control experimental framework we examined the occurrence of spatially explicit mine disturbance thresholds. In general, resource selection modeling indicated that mountain goats selected for steep, rugged terrain in close proximity to cliffs in areas with high solar exposure; and they selected for lower elevations in winter than in summer. Mountain goat selection for rugged terrain and proximity to cliffs was stronger in winter than summer. RSF model applications indicated that mountain goat use of predicted habitat in close proximity to the mine was lower than expected at distances up to 1800 m in winter and 1000 m in summer. Because lower elevation winter habitat is closer to mining activity than summer habitat, a greater percentage (42%) of winter habitat within the analysis area was affected by mining activity. The resulting net loss of functional winter habitat carrying capacity is likely to have long-term negative implications for the local mountain goat population. In places where mining is proposed, development should avoid areas within 1800 m of mountain goat winter habitat. In places where mining is already occurring within disturbance thresholds (such as this study), long-term monitoring and more detailed field studies should be conducted to more fully understand population-level consequences of disturbance and identify practicable mitigation measures that have a high probability of success.

The European brown hare Lepus europaeus is an r-selected species showing relatively high fecundity, and changes in the hare population can be influenced by the timing of hunting and reproductive activity. Between February and August in Europe, the majority of female hares are either pregnant or suckling young, or both, and if a female is killed during the suckling period, the young hares (leverets) are orphaned and are likely to die of starvation. In England and Wales, in contrast with other European countries, there is no close season when hunting hares is prohibited, and the peak time of hunting in February coincides with the start of reproductive activity. We explore the impact of hunting practices on the risk of death by starvation of dependent young. By modelling scenarios of hunting at the highest documented rate at times of the year based on practices adopted in England and Wales, and by comparing this with the close season practice in Scotland, we quantify seasonally variable risks of orphaning and death by starvation of leverets. Hunting in February leads to a profoundly damaging combination of population shrinkage (λ = 0.534) and levels of orphaning of leverets corresponding to 7.6% of the year start population and thus providing poor welfare and poor population recovery outcomes for the hare. These illustrative figures compare very unfavourably with the modelled Scottish population which has a growth rate of λ = 1.404 and levels of orphaning of leverets corresponding to 0.3% of the year start population. We anticipate that these findings will stimulate consideration of the impact of hunting practices, and that increased understanding of the effects of the timing of hunting may aid policy development aimed at protecting dependent young hares.

After persecution and a long period of extinction in parts of central Europe, the European wildcat is currently increasing its range, also to areas deemed unsuitable for this species. This range expansion facilitates close contact with domestic cats, which can reach high population densities even in protected areas. We provide unambiguous evidence that the European wildcat is present in the Bavarian Forest National Park. We assessed the frequency of domestic cat occurrence, and analyzed the distributions of the two felid subspecies with regard to residential areas, forested habitat, elevation and protected areas, and analyzed their spatial overlap. Camera traps installed in the national park detected six putative wildcats in 2008–2015 at elevations between 800 and 1100 m a.s.l. Genetic analysis of material obtained from hair traps with valerian-treated lure sticks confirmed the presence of three wildcat individuals in early 2015. The number of wildcat events detected increased slightly in recent years and wildcats were detected closer to shrub cover and the forest edge. Of the domestic cat events, 90% were within 1.1 km of residential areas, but some moved up to nearly 3 km into the national park. Ranges of wildcats and domestic cats broadly overlapped. All but one camera trap that recorded wildcats also recorded domestic cats, and some camera traps recorded domestic cats but no wildcats. Domestic cats were the fifth most often detected mammal species in the protected area. To avoid a negative impact of domestic cats on wildcats through hybridization, which might already occur, and considering the ecological impact of predation by domestic cats, we recommend a buffer zone of 1 km surrounding the national park, where domestic cats should not be allowed outdoors.

Estimating abundance of large carnivores is often challenging, yet important for their effective conservation. Attracting lions Panthera leo for visual enumeration using broadcasted vocalizations (i.e. call-ins) is commonly used to estimate their abundance. However, call-ins are typically not repeated at sites because of habituation. We evaluated lion response to repeated call-ins varying temporally (1 or 2 weeks) and spatially (1 or 2 km) in Serengeti National Park (SNP), Tanzania, during February—April 2016. We established 30 call-in sites: at 10 sites we used lion and spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta calls while alternating prey distress calls across five consecutive weeks; at 10 sites we alternated calls but conducted call-ins once every two weeks; and at 10 sites we alternated calls weekly for five weeks but moved among three locations separated by 1 or 2 km each week. We used N-mixture models to assess which sampling design would elicit greater lion detections across sessions and to estimate overall abundance. Lions habituated to broadcasted calls within each sampling design, with detectability point estimates overall declining across sessions. Estimated lion abundance at these 30 sites was 198 (95% credible interval = 186–214). Altering time interval and location of call-ins was ineffective at reducing lion habituation. However, altering calls across sessions appeared to reduce lion habituation when compared to a previous survey in SNP that used the same calls across sessions. We recommend that call-in surveys using repeated broadcasts are conducted at the same sites across sessions and use different calls to improve lion response and consequently, estimates of abundance.

The functional response is the relationship between food intake rates and prey density, and is shaped by factors including handling time, predator speed, habitat or prey movement. For many predator—prey systems, the density-dependent functional response is represented by a type II or type III functional response. Determination of the relationship type is important, as managers can often predict the response of predators to changing prey densities. In wolf—moose (Canis lupus—Alces alces) systems with relatively high prey density, the functional response often follows a predicted type II functional response. However, in a very low prey-density system, wolves have previously been shown to escape the density dependent phase of the functional response and demonstrated kill rates mimicking high prey-density systems. We conducted a study to evaluate winter wolf movements between moose kills in the Yukon Flats, Alaska where moose exist at densities <0.2 km^-2. Our research objectives were to understand whether habitat selection when moving and specific behaviors could be mechanisms used by wolves to maintain kill rates that mimic those in high prey density systems and if those behaviors may allow wolves in our study system to escape a density dependent functional response. We used GPS collars to characterize wolf travel paths between kills to estimate wolf travel speed, movement distance, time between kills, and handling time of each kill. Our results demonstrated selection for frozen river corridors by wolves and provided new information on long-distance movements in a low prey-density system. These adaptations may influence the functional response by moderating the effect of low prey densities.

Box turtle populations are under significant threat from historic and current alterations of land-use where remaining populations often occur in remnant patches of suitable habitat surrounded by a heterogeneous mixture of anthropogenically altered, unsuitable habitat. Ornate box turtles Terrapene ornata are a prairie-dependent species, are considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and are Endangered or Threatened within many US states. Since their range exists largely in northern latitudes, aspects of hibernacula are particularly important for winter survival. How box turtles select hibernacula within prairies is likely of great importance to better understand which microhabitats are selected for and to identify areas of suitable habitat for management purposes. Using radio telemetry in conjunction with temperature dataloggers (iButtons), we examined the phenology and thermal characteristics of box turtle hibernation, and quantified microhabitat selection of their hibernacula in remnant prairie patches. We monitored hibernation initiation/termination phenology and turtle carapace temperatures, and quantified vegetative and soil microhabitat variables of hibernacula for seven turtles in 2014/2015 and 18 turtles in 2015/2016. Box turtles initiated (descended into hibernacula) and terminated (ascended out of hibernacula) at similar time periods across two years. Although the ambient thermal environment consistently experienced temperatures below freezing, turtle hibernacula offered a buffer against those temperatures and thus the temperature of turtle carapaces never fell below freezing. Turtles selected microhabitat hibernacula with higher percentages of sand, leaf litter and bare ground, and lower percentages of clay, silt, shrubs and herbaceous ground cover. Our study suggests the phenology of box turtle hibernation may be similar across years and that hibernacula selection is driven by above- and belowground characteristics that ultimately lead to a more stable and warmer thermal environment.

Species with a long evolutionary history of sympatry often have mechanisms for resource partitioning that reduce competition. However, introduced non-native ungulates often compete with native ungulates and competitive effects can be exacerbated in arid regions due to low primary productivity. Our objectives were to characterize diet composition, quality, and overlap between American pronghorn Antilocapra americana and introduced non-native gemsbok Oryx gazella in southcentral New Mexico, USA. Severe drought occurred between 2010 and 2011, which allowed us to evaluate drought impacts on diet composition, quality, and overlap. Using feces collected from each species, we assessed diet composition and overlap with microhistological analysis and diet quality using fecal nitrogen (FN) and fecal 2,6-diaminopimelic acid (FDAPA). Pronghorn diet was primarily composed of shrubs in the cool—dry season (64.5%) then shifted to forbs in the warm—dry (64.7%) and warm—wet (54.1%) seasons. Pronghorn diet also shifted to shrubs during drought (50.7%). Gemsbok diets were evenly distributed across forage types. Fifty-three percent of the species of plants consumed by pronghorn and gemsbok were shared; diet overlap averaged 0.44 ± 0.06 (SE) and 0.49 ± 0.06 during the warm—dry seasons of 2010 and 2011, respectively. During drought, key forage species shared between pronghorn and gemsbok included yucca Yucca spp., prickly pear Opuntia spp., globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea and horsenettle Solanum elaeagnifolium, comprising 50% of the pronghorn and 40% of the gemsbok diets. Fecal nitrogen and FDAPA decreased in pronghorn by 26% and 27% between the warm—dry season of 2010 (non-drought) and the warm—dry season of 2011 (drought), respectively. Drought had little effect on dietary quality for gemsbok. Gemsbok can use forage with lower nutritional content giving them an advantage over pronghorn, particularly during drought periods. Pronghorn are more dependent upon precipitation, which may be important to consider in light of increasing drought frequency associated with climate change.

Researchers and wildlife managers strive for low bias and high precision (i.e. high accuracy) when estimating animal population sizes. Distance sampling is currently one of the most widely used monitoring methods. However, it relies on strict sampling designs and modeling assumptions that can be difficult to meet in the field. Here, we use data from two sub-populations of non-migratory wild Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus inhabiting flat, open and isolated coastal tundra plains, to demonstrate some challenges related to the distance sampling methodology. To achieve this, we compared distance sampling line transect estimates with repeated total population counts and combined available software tools (R packages unmarked, Distance and dsm) to fulfill the analytical requirements of small study sites in which large areas are surveyed relative to the study area size. Based on low variation among repeated total counts (CV = 0.02 - 0.06) and the virtual absence of false negatives and positives of marked animals, the total counts could be used as reference population sizes. Distance sampling estimates were not statistically different from the total count estimates. Our relatively large sample size of 143 observations enabled precise distance sampling abundance estimates (CV = 0.16 - 0.26) compared with other studies in the wild. However, capturing the processes shaping population dynamics would likely require even higher sampling effort or other, more resource demanding monitoring tools, such as total counts or mark-recapture. In this type of ecosystem, distance sampling nevertheless represents a cost-effective tool suitable for ‘population state’ assessment and studies of large-scale spatial distribution patterns. Our study stresses the importance of choosing the appropriate analytical tools and estimating the accuracy of the monitoring methods that are used to achieve specific scientific, management or conservation goals.

Aging individuals is a prerequisite to many studies in wildlife biology. In mammals, the most accurate methods are based on cement lines analysis and require tooth extraction. Here, we adapted a method based on tooth wear assessment in live individuals and calibrated against cement lines counts on dead individuals. We developed and tested this less invasive method in arctic foxes Vulpes lagopus. We photographed dentition of live individuals captured in 2006–2013 and of skulls collected opportunistically in 2003–2013. Five observers assessed twice the tooth wear of 245 sets of pictures (left, frontal, and right views of the dentition for 179 captures and 66 skulls, with a mean of 7.2 pictures per set) to obtain a teeth condition index (TCI) for each set. TCI was highly repeatable, with an intraclass correlation coefficient averaging 0.89 and 0.83 within and between observers, respectively. We then used 44 known-aged individuals to predict fox age from TCI through linear regression (age = 0.62 × TCI + 1.04, r² = 0.64). We tested through jackknife validation the ability of this model to accurately age foxes. The rate of correct classification of exact age was 39%, while 80% and 100% of predicted ages were within one and two years of the true age, respectively. The model predicted correctly the age class (young, prime-age adult, old) of individuals 75% of the time. We conclude that our proposed method, which is much less invasive than those based on tooth extraction, can allow progress in the study of demography of arctic foxes, and potentially other mammal species.

Monitoring individually marked birds' movements over the long term with the aid of third-party observers can be challenging for reasons including poor tag visibility, observer error and tag failure or removal. This study tested the efficacy of the little used method of tagging birds with livestock ear-tags; fitted to the patagia of 100 sulphur-crested cockatoos occupying an urbanised landscape. The wing-tags were easily applied, persisted over four years, and were highly visible. Urban residents were encouraged to report sightings of tagged birds, and there was a strong public response, with a total of 14 705 valid records over the first four years. Wing-tagged birds were predominantly reported through a customised smartphone application (n = 10 146 records), e-mail (n = 3243), Facebook (n = 415), and other formats (n = 901) by a large number of people (n = 1252) across all formats. All 100 tagged birds were reported by third-party observers at least once and 68% of birds were reported more than 100 times. Because large birds tend to dominate urban bird communities, this research methodology should be effective for many other urban ecology projects.

Muskrats Ondatra zibethicus are a popular furbearer species across much of North America. Float sets have gained popularity due to the ease of use and effectiveness of capturing muskrats. Little to no research has been conducted on muskrat float sets, especially on the impacts the float sets have on non-target animals. In North Dakota, USA, regulations allowed trappers to use float sets during the spring season, but float sets were required to have a covering made of wire mesh, wood or plastic and no opening larger than 20.32 cm (8 inches) in an effort to minimize the incidental take of non-target species. We aimed to determine if there was any non-target capture injury or mortality risk on float muskrat sets. We conducted a study to compare rates of incidental take in covered (2.54×2.54 cm and 15.24×15.24 cm wire mesh) and uncovered float sets. We trapped muskrats in fall (1191 trap nights) and spring (3054 trap nights) from 2012–2014 at four study areas in North Dakota. Over four trapping periods (two fall and two spring seasons), 490 muskrats and seven non-target species were captured. Non-target species included three black-crowned night heron Nycticorax nycticorax, two blue-winged teal Anas discors and two painted turtles Chrysemys picta. All avian non-target species were captured on uncovered floats. Camera trap data showed that ducks were 10.1 times less likely to be on floats than other types of water birds (e.g. herons). Covers did not negatively influence muskrat captures, but smaller mesh sizes appeared to deter birds from climbing on top of floats. All but one avian non-target capture occurred after 1 May (closing of North Dakota's spring muskrat trapping season) each year, suggesting that season dates may be an important factor to consider in attempts to reduce incidental take of protected bird species.

Asian elephants Elephas maximus are an endangered species and human—elephant conflict (HEC) is the major threat to their survival. HEC causes crop and property loss and occasionally results in the death of both humans and elephants in Nepal. Elephants are responsible for more than 40% of the human—wildlife conflict, 70% of the wildlife-caused human casualties, and a 25% loss in crop production in Nepal. Identification of the factors associated with elephant invasion can help mitigate conflict by allowing residents and representatives to address those factors. This study used face-to-face interviews in 1182 households in villages affected by elephants in southern Nepal using a structured questionnaire to understand how land-use practices are related to HEC regionally. Almost all (99%) of the surveyed houses had some damage from elephants within the past five years. A stepwise binary logistic regression showed that practices such as the growing of traditional crops (rice and large maize fields), maintaining bananas, and home alcohol production increase the chances of elephant attacks. Our data also revealed that HEC is most intense in winter months, when rice is harvested. People residing near protected areas had positive attitudes towards elephants, as they received economic benefits from ecotourism and improved mitigation practices such as electric fences. Changing some land-use practices could reduce HEC in the region. Therefore, alternative crops should be explored to reduce HEC in southern Nepal. Other management recommendations include moving fruit trees away from homes or fencing community orchards. Although home alcohol production is illegal in Nepal, those engaging in the practice should not ferment alcohol in their homes. Finally, growing bamboo on the edge of settlements would engage elephants and allow for a response to repel them before severe crop or house damage occurs.

Provision of artificial surface water has been suggested as a management practice that can benefit wildlife in arid and semi-arid regions. With unprecedented droughts predicted for many of these areas in North America in coming decades, understanding species response to the provision of artificial surface water should be evaluated. Moreover, a dearth of knowledge exists in the understanding of avian response to artificial surface water during the non-breeding season. To address this lack of knowledge, we sampled the avian community at varying distances from water sources in Beaver County, Oklahoma, USA from February–March 2013–2014. A total of 20 species were detected. We found no relationship to avian species richness and distance to water. Likewise, pooled data of detections across all species indicated no relationship in relation to artificial surface water. Analysis on individual species indicated that western meadowlarks Sturnella neglecta did not respond to water. However, American tree sparrows Spizella arborea (plateau model β = 0.05, SE = 0.01) were attracted to surface water sources up to a distance of 100 m (SE = 40.19 m). Furthermore, white-crowned sparrows Zonotrichia leucophrys (linear β = -0.01, SE = 0.006) were attracted to surface water sources up to distance of 250 m. Additionally, analysis indicated that used water sources by American tree sparrows had significantly more mixed shrub cover (%) when compared to unused water sources (β = 6.04, SE = 2.64; p = 0.03) and that use of water sources by white-crowned sparrows was influenced by the amount of mixed shrub cover within 50 m of the water source (β = 0.36, SE = 0.16; p = 0.02). Our results suggest that some overwintering sparrows will alter space use in response to the presence of artificial surface water, however, it is unknown whether provision of water influences overwinter survival of sparrows.

Ticks are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites that have negative effects on animals through blood loss and vectoring disease. Controlling ticks is a major aspect of wildlife management in many areas, including African savannah where ticks are a long-standing problem. Rotational burning of vegetation is widely thought to reduce ticks but empirical data are lacking. We investigate the effect of block rotational burning on tick populations in a South African wildlife reserve. We measured tick presence/abundance using tick drags in multiple blocks of five different burn ages (areas burned 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years previously). We also assessed herbivore diversity using dung as a proxy. Tick presence was highest in areas burned 2–3 years previously. It was lowest in recently-burned areas (probably due to fire-induced mortality or loss of field-layer refugia) and areas burned ≥ 4 years previously (probably because the lack of palatable grass meant herbivore abundance was lower; this is supported by significantly lower herbivore presence in old burns and significant positive correlation between tick numbers and herbivore presence). Burn age and, to a lesser extent, block, were significantly related to tick presence and abundance at both larval and nymph stages. The model that best explained tick numbers, though, included the interaction between burn age and block due to substantial inter-block variability in mid-burn blocks relative to lower variability in blocks at the start or end of the burn cycle. This suggests that burn age and block-specific conditions together influence tick abundance, with habitat heterogeneity likely being an important modifier of the effect burning has on tick numbers. Although annual burning of large areas would not be feasible while maintaining suitable grazing, we suggest that additional annual burning of potential wildlife (and therefore tick) hotspots, such as around waterholes, could reduce tick populations and improve wildlife management.

Knowledge of meso-mammal cave use is essential for natural resource managers, particularly in the management of endangered cave invertebrates. Scat left by meso-mammals represents significant nutrient inputs into the oligotrophic cave environment which can disrupt the invertebrate species composition and ecology. Since little is known about what constitutes typical timing or frequency of meso-mammal visitation, current management practices are largely speculative. Central Texas caves were historically associated with raccoons Procyon lotor, but with the loss of large predators and encroachment of woody vegetation, the now naturalized North American porcupine Erethizon dorsatum has become an established part of the local ecosystems whose effect on cave biology remains unknown. Our objective with this study was to quantify meso-mammal cave use according to seasons, time of day, weather conditions, as well ecological and physical cave characteristics. We monitored 30 caves by placing trail cameras at cave entrances for one year on Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis military base just north of San Antonio, Texas. North American porcupines, raccoons, and Virginia opossums Didelphis virginiana were the three most commonly photographed meso-mammals (>87%). All meso-mammal groups showed significantly different cave use according to season, weather, and cave characteristics. Data suggested most meso-mammals were using caves for denning while raccoons and Virginia opossums also were feeding on resident invertebrate and rodent populations. In particular, Virginia opossum and raccoon, both potential predators of endangered species, showed greater use of caves containing endangered species. The results from our study represent an initial step in understanding meso-mammal cave use in central Texas.

Despite numerous studies estimating gray fox Urocyon cinereoargenteus home range sizes, there have been few studies to evaluate more nuanced space use patterns; thus little is known about gray fox spatial ecology beyond estimates of home range size. We used GPS-technology to track 34 gray foxes (20 males and 14 females) from February 2014 until December 2015 in southwestern Georgia, USA. Home range sizes were similar among seasons (p > 0.05), but core area sizes were smaller during spring than during winter and summer (p < 0.05). As would be expected, home range overlap was much greater between mated pairs than among neighboring animals and core area overlap among neighbors did not occur. Members of a mated pair apparently interacted frequently, with 29.4% of all simultaneous locations occurring within 40 m of each other. Members of mated pairs interacted more diurnally during spring (49.9%) which is concurrent with denning, than during summer (31.5%), while nocturnal interactions were similar during spring (18.0%) and summer (19.3%). We recorded 25 extra-territorial forays from 10 of 26 gray foxes. Three male foxes were responsible for nearly half (12) of these forays. Because these forays took place during the breeding season, we suggest males may have been seeking extra-pair copulations.

Population management of overabundant deer is essential in many countries. Hunting is one of the ways to manage such deer so it is important to understand how hunting affects deer and numbers caught. The number caught is the product of hunter effort and hunting efficiency. However, factors affecting effort and efficiency have rarely been properly investigated. I used a Bayesian state—space model to examine the effects of landscape components and deer behavior on the effort and efficiency of two hunting methods in hunting sika deer Cervus nippon. With shooting by gun, effort increased as the deer abundance of previous year increased and the percentages of wildlife protection areas and city areas decreased. With trapping, effort increased as the percentage of wildlife protection areas decreased. Efficiency of shooting decreased as the effort of the previous year increased. With trapping, efficiency was not affected by the effort of the previous year. Efficiency of trapping plateaued with the increase of deer abundance and the decrease of efficiency in relation to deer abundance was stronger with trapping than with shooting. In conclusion, effort and efficiency were affected by landscape components, deer behavior, and hunting methods. I recommend intensive shooting in the initial phase, and after deer abundance decreases and deer vigilance increases, trapping should be adopted for a sustainable hunting efficiency.

Physiological investigations of cervid eyes have revealed two different types of cones indicating high visual sensitivity in the ‘blue’ and ‘green’ spectral range (400–450 nm and 510–540 nm). Although detailed knowledge about light perception in large mammals is still missing, light reflecting devices such as wildlife warning reflectors are frequently used in animalvehicle collision mitigation. Light of wavelengths in the range of 440–490 nm (‘blue’ light) has recently been advocated to evoke a warning effect in cervids due to its rare occurrence in the natural environment. We conducted a behavioural study with captive roe deer Capreolus capreolus to investigate whether roe deer exhibit a specific behavioural response to ‘blue’ light (wavelengths 440–490 nm). Compartmented feeders were pseudo-randomly illuminated with either ‘blue’ (colour: blue, 440–490 nm) or ‘warm-white’ light (colour: yellow-orange, 575–675 nm), or left unilluminated to assess changes in feeding time and feeder-compartment choice in dependence of illumination. Although feeding times were found to be generally shorter under illumination there was no difference between illumination types. Moreover, roe deer favoured the illuminated feeder compartment over non-illuminated ones. Our results highlight that roe deer differentiate between light and no light conditions while ‘blue’ light (440–490 nm) did not exert a ‘warning effect’ in roe deer.

Ideal despotic distribution theory and resource dispersion theory predict that individuals in populations of territorial species arrange themselves in space according to dominance and resource dispersion. When available territories are saturated, this can result in competition for preferred territories. Recently, transience in coyote populations was suggested as an advantageous life history strategy, even though transients may incur higher mortality and do not typically contribute reproductively to the population at that time. Here we assess potential types of biding, or awaiting better territory opportunities, in a highly-exploited coyote population in Virginia, USA. We used relocation data from coyotes collared from July 2011 — March 2014 to classify residents and transients based on a 95% home range area over a three-month moving window. We estimated home range stability as the distance between successive activity centers and compared it between subadults and adults. We used home range stability relative to home range area to identify extra-territorial excursions and territory turnover, or resident shifts into adjacent territories. Some coyotes adhered to the traditional form of transience, occupying very large home ranges or biding areas overlapping several resident territories, until a territory became vacant. Conversely, other individuals displayed evidence of resident territory turnover, suggesting individuals may use low quality territories as biding areas, waiting for better quality territories to become vacant. We suggest this biding population provides the capacity for rapid compensatory immigration. In response to high levels of mortality in exploited coyote populations, removal of individuals from territories may result in immediate colonization by another individual, confounding efforts to reduce overall coyote density. Thus, transience and biding may regulate population density and be a potentially advantageous life history strategy and may have implications for management of saturated populations of social predators.

Natural gas development is increasing across North America and causing concern over the potential impacts on wildlife populations and their habitat, particularly for ungulate species. Understanding how this development impacts reproductive success metrics that are influential for ungulate population dynamics is important to guide management of ungulates. However, the influences of natural gas development on reproductive success metrics of mule deer Odocoileus hemionus have not been studied. We used statistical models to examine the influence of natural gas development and temporal factors on reproductive success metrics of mule deer in the Piceance Basin, northwest Colorado during 2012–2014. We focused on study areas with relatively high or low levels of natural gas development. Pregnancy and in utero fetal rates were high and statistically indistinguishable between study areas. Fetal survival rates increased over time and survival was lower in the high versus low development study areas in 2012 possibly influenced by drought coupled with habitat loss and fragmentation associated with development. Our novel results suggest managers should be concerned with the influences of development on fetal survival, particularly during extreme environmental conditions (e.g. drought) and our results can be used to guide development planning and/or mitigation. Developers and wildlife managers should continue to collaborate on development planning, such as implementing habitat treatments to improve forage availability and quality, minimizing disturbance to hiding and foraging habitat particularly during parturition, and implementing directional drilling to minimize pad disturbance density to increase fetal survival in developed areas.

Greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus have declined across western North America, intensifying the need for ecological research that enhances management and conservation goals. Predator—prey interactions can have widespread ecological effects but there is a paucity of information about predator effects on sage-grouse ecology. During a two-year study from 2011–2012, we modified the existing framework designed for predator management to test the effects of coyote Canis latrans removal on female sage-grouse survival and nest success in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming, USA, where coyotes were found to be the dominant predator. We used VHF radio-telemetry to monitor female survival and locate nests over pre-treatment and treatment breeding seasons, and for one-year post-treatment to the next breeding season. During treatment, we manipulated predator management at three sites to have targeted, non-targeted, and no coyote removal. Female survival remained constant over the nesting period when treatment was applied, and there were little differences between one-year pre- (Ŝ = 0.64, 90% CI = 0.38, 0.90) and one-year post-treatment survival estimates (Ŝ = 0.71, 90% CI = 0.55, 0.87) at the targeted coyote removal site. No differences were detected in the daily survival rates of nests relative to coyote removal. We conclude removing coyotes, the primary predator of nests and adult females identified within this system, did not improve female survival or nest success. However, long-term monitoring is recommended to provide a more robust understanding of this complex relationship.

Motion-activated video cameras and non-invasive genetic sampling are tools commonly used to obtain relevant information on wild populations of rare or elusive carnivores while minimizing disturbance. The two approaches are usually implemented separately, but they are occasionally integrated at a population level, mostly in order to estimate population size. Here we show the advantages of combining camera trapping and non-invasive genotyping at an individual level, in a monitored Italian wolf population affected by introgression from domestic dogs. After 24 defecation events recorded by camera traps located at marking sites, samples (‘video-scats’) were collected in order to determine the individuals' identity based on the analysis of sex markers, 11 autosomal microsatellites, two Y-chromosome microsatellites and the control region of the mitochondrial DNA. Genetic data for 19 successfully genotyped scat samples were combined with morphological and behavioural traits observed in the videos and compared to data from ongoing genetic monitoring, all of which enabled us to determine sex, pack membership, breeding status, morphological traits (including those used to assess hybridization), sampling history, and introgression level of each individual. Finally we discuss the advantages and possible drawbacks of ‘video-scats’, supporting their use as an opportunistic source of valuable data.

The role of predation by corvids on the breeding output of songbirds is unclear. Using a randomised-pair design, we measured how nest success of hedgerow-nesting passerines responded to the experimental removal of carrion crows and magpies. We worked in southern England at 32 paired sites around 4 km² each, one with and one without best-practice corvid control, studying four different pairs per year for four years 2011–2014. We counted corvids, and using songbird territory mapping and fledged brood counts without finding nests along transects, we estimated nest success as a brood/ territory ratio for the community of songbirds in 4 km of hedgerow at each site. Crows and magpies were still present at most removal sites but numbers were half as high as at paired non-removal sites. Eighteen songbird species were frequently encountered at most sites with on average (±1 SD) 102 ± 30 territories per site. Using a generalised linear mixed model analysis the songbird community as a whole bred less well in treatment sites without corvid removal and in years with more rainfall. Nest success was down by 10% in non-removal sites on average relative to removal sites over the four years. Excluding 2012 data because of exceptionally high spring rainfall that year, nest success was down 16% in the non-removal sites on average in the other three years. For open-cup nesting species as a group there was no difference in nest success between site types. Our data on hole nesters suggest that they were affected by treatment and contributed to our overall result. For species whose numbers are regulated through territoriality, nest-site or habitat availability, spring abundance is unlikely to be affected by a 15% increase in breeding output. For species limited by nest success, it may be more important.